KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan says the handover of the Afghan embassy in India to the Taliban is a “hasty decision” and “contrary to the ground realities in Afghanistan.”
In a statement issued on Saturday (January 17), the council said that engaging with and normalising relations with the Taliban — whom it described as an extremist group with a terrorist-oriented approach that does not represent the Afghan people — is unexpected, particularly given India’s long-standing and deep-rooted relations with the people of Afghanistan.
The statement warned that any engagement with or recognition of the Taliban would have “negative and irreversible security and social consequences at regional and international levels,” and would undermine global efforts to achieve lasting peace and a rules-based international order.
The council added that it expects the Indian government, as a long-time friend of the Afghan people, to continue its cooperation with the Afghan people and their “legitimate representatives,” taking into account historical and cultural ties as well as the realities on the ground in Afghanistan.
It also called on the international community to act responsibly in response to the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, urging a cautious approach based on international law and the will of the Afghan people.
India handed over the Afghan embassy in New Delhi to the Taliban following a visit by the group’s acting foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, to the country in October last year.
More recently, the Taliban appointed Noor Ahmad Noor, a senior official from their foreign ministry, as the acting head of the Afghan embassy in New Delhi.
